Union Leader Assures PHCN Staff On Entitlements

FCT Branch Chairman, National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Mr Wisdom Nwachukwu, has assured his colleagues that the Federal Government is committed to honouring its agreement with the union.

Nwachukwu gave the assurance in an interview with newsmen yesterday in Abuja.

“I believe in the government of President Goodluck Jonathan for what he has done to ensure that workers of PHCN are not owed a dime,” he said.

“The president is a man of his words; NUEE advised him to consult widely on our matter and we did not think he would know that PHCN’s casual staff had not been given appointment letters.”

According to him, the confirmation and giving of appointment letters to the PHCN casual workers are parts of the agreements with the Federal Government.

The Federal Government had on May 1, 2012 agreed to confirm about 10,000 causal workers in PHCN across the country.

It also assured them that they would receive their appointment letters.

Nwachuckwu said the agreement with government would not be complete without it fulfilling that aspect of the agreement, saying that is the only way to get the accurate figure of the workers.

He lauded the new government policy of training PHCN staff at the National Power Training Institute to make sure they adapt to the new power reform agenda of the government.

He said he was happy the government denied the recent allegation that 25,000 staff of PHCN would be retrenched.

Nwachukwu advised his colleagues to exercise patience and carry out their duties diligently as government would not renege on its promise to pay them severance benefits.